Karen Campbell

My blogs

About me

Gender Female
Industry Education
Occupation Genealogy Librarian
Location Waynesville, Ohio, United States
Introduction I am the genealogy librarian at The Mary L. Cook Public Library in Waynesville, Ohio. I am interested in all aspects of our local history but my special interest is in mid-western Quaker history and genealogy. I have authored and compiled some books: Quaker Education and Miami Valley Institute: A Hicksite Quaker College, Murder in Waynesville: The Anderson Tragedy, Obituaries and Death Notices found in the Miami-Visitor Weekly Newspaper of Waynesville, etc., and Friendly Research: An Introduction to Quaker Genealogical Research, etc. I feel that the history and legacy of The Society of Friends in this area of Ohio is interesting, significant and edifying. The history of Waynesville, Ohio is a microcosm of American history. Waynesville was a town made up of a diverse group of pioneers and its development paralleled the diversity, the struggles and the growth of the United States. I am also interested in the history and culture of other local towns, villages and hamlets in the area, for example, Harveysburg, Ohio. AND, as you can also tell from my blog, "Conversations with my Cats", I love cats!!
Interests Reading historical novels and the "Cat Who" mysteries, cooking (especially Asian dishes), baseball, cats of all kinds (I have two), and traveling, I love American history and the history of religions, When I was a kid I read all the Pearl S. Buck books, I visited Asia and have always been fascinated by Chinese and Thai culture. I'm learning Tai Chi.
Favorite Movies The Shawshank Redemption, Field of Dreams, The Mission, Little Women (the 1994 version), The Horse Whisperer, Space Cowboys, A League of Their Own, Major League I and II, The Phantom of the Opera, The Last Emperor, the Star Trek movies, Contact, Gone With the Wind, The Wizard of Oz, Groundhog Day, Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon.
Favorite Music Anything by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Sting, the Beatles, Paul McCartney, the Moody Blues, anything by Wynton Marsalis and his family, Bill Charlap (an incredible jazz pianist), Harry Connick, Jr., Rosemary Clooney, Michael Feinstein, Diana Krall, Herbie Hancock.
Favorite Books I love Jasper Fforde’s books. I also enjoy (since I love cats, baseball, mysteries & since I'm a Quaker): The Cat Who books by Lilian Jackson Braun, the Sneaky Pie Brown novels of Rita Mae Brown, The "Big Mike" Mysteries by Garrison Allen, the Midnight Louie Mysteries by Carole Nelson Douglas, the Mickey Rawlings baseball mystery series by Troy Soos, and the Elizabeth Elliot (a Quaker) Mysteries by Irene Allen. I love historical novels, novels with a genealogy theme, as well as biographies. I love the books of Amy Tan, Barbara Kingsolver, & Terry Pratchett.